Me at-block



E. GARDNER.

MEAT BLOCK.

No. 333,512. Patented Jan. 5,- 1886.

Nirnn STATES ATENT OFFI E.

EDWARD GARDNER, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEAT-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,512, dated January 5, 1886.

Application filed February 26,1885. Serial No. 157,145. (No model.) i

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD GARDNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Meat-Blocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to blocks for meatchopping machines, and for general use in meat-chopping, and composed of sections arranged endwise to the face of the block; and it consists in a novel means of uniting said sections and maintaining the same in close relation to one another, all as hereinafter fully described.

Heretofore it has been a common-custom to use transverse sections of large tree-bodies for meat-chopping blocks; but owing to natural defects found in such tree-bodies blocks cut therefrom are often imperfect in places, and when in use wear away with an uneven surface, and thus soon become useless, and in addition to the foregoing much trouble is occasioned by these solid blocks splitting through their entire length. Chopping-blocks have also been made in sections, but at great cost.

The object of my invention is the produc tion of a block which will be of equal solidity throughout, and which will thus always retain and present an even chopping-surface, and, further, the production of such a block at a cost far below that of the most suitable block now in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top View of a meat-block, showing my in-- vention. Fig. 2 is a detail view in perspective of a longitudinal grooved section. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of a key.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A A designate square sections or blocks of wood of suitable length, and having their sides made smooth,so that when placed side by side, as hereinafter described, a close and neat joint may be made. ofthe sections or blocks, and parallel with and in the four sides thereof, 1 cause a dovetailed or other suitable-shaped groove to be cut, as shown in Fig. 2.

Throughout the entire length.

B B are Wooden joining-keys, cutin length to correspond with sections or blocks A A, extending through the 1neat-block,and shaped as shown in Fig. 3, so that when the sections or blocks A A are placed side by side the said keys may be closely fitted into the dovetailed space or groove in the sides of said sections or blocks, and thereby'serve the purpose of maintaining and binding the same together, and thus forming, by the addition of blocks AA and joining-keys B B, a choppingblock of any desired size, the .whole to be bound by a light band of iron, and supported by suitable legs when used as a shop-block,

and when used upon a machine it may be fitted upon the device for that purpose attached to such machine. Along each side of the respective rectangular blocks is a deep undercut groove arranged opposite those in the adjoining blocks, constituting between them double dovetailed channels, into which long wooden keys of corresponding size and form are driven to draw and firmly bind the blocks together.

It will be readily understood that the parts which go to make up this block may be shaped upon an ordinary planing-machine, or shaped in plank-lengths and-afterward cut to the desired size, and if carefully worked they may be placed together and a block completed with but very little labor and in a comparatively short space of time.

Having thus described my invention,what I desire to have secured by Letters Patent is As an article of manufacture, a meat block consisting of a collection of closelyfitting rectangular blocks, each respective block being provided with a deep undercut channel or dovetail groove along each of its four sides, and the blocks being joined, drawn, and firmly held together by long double dovetailed keys corresponding in size and form to the said dovetailed channels, substantially as described.

ED WARD GARDNER.

. Witnesses:

K. G. GARDNER, J NO. W. MACDONALD. 

